An ARC console screen on an Alpha AXP system

Advanced RISC Computing is a specification promulgated by a defunct consortium of computer manufacturers (the Advanced Computing Environment project), setting forth a standard MIPS RISC-based computer hardware and firmware environment. Alpha ARC screen File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Alpha ARC screen File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A computer is a device or machine for making calculations or controlling operations that are expressible in numerical or logical terms. ... The Advanced Computing Environment (ACE) was defined by an industry consortium in the early 1990s to be the next generation commodity computing platform after Personal Computers. ... MIPS may mean: MIPS architecture, a RISC microprocessor architecture. ... Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC), is a microprocessor CPU design philosophy that favors a smaller and simpler set of instructions that all take about the same amount of time to execute. ... In computing, firmware is software that is embedded in a hardware device. ...

Although ACE went defunct, and although no computer was ever manufactured which fully complied with the ARC standard, nonetheless the ARC system still exerts a widespread legacy in that all Microsoft Windows NT-based operating systems (such as Windows XP) use ARC conventions for naming boot devices and other aspects of operating system design. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the worlds largest software company, with over 50,000 employees in various countries as of May 2004. ... Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, and was succeeded by Windows 2000 (still based on Windows NT). ... In computing, an operating system (OS) is the system software responsible for the direct control and management of hardware and basic system operations. ... As of 2005, Windows XP is the current desktop version of the Microsoft Windows operating system. ...

Further, SGI uses a modified version of the ARC firmware (which it calls ARCS) in its workstations. All SGI computers which run IRIX 6.1 or later (such as the Indy, Octane, etc.) boot from an ARCS console (which uses the same drive naming conventions as Windows, accordingly). This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... ARCS is a firmware bootloader (also known as a PROM console) used in most computers produced by SGI since the beginning of the 1990s. ... A computer workstation, often colloquially referred to as workstation, is a high-end general-purpose microcomputer designed to be used by one person at a time and which offers higher performance than normally found in a personal computer, especially with respect to graphics, processing power and the ability to carry... IRIX 6. ... Overview The Indy was the fruit of SGIs effort to muscle into the market for desktop publishing, low-end CAD, and multimedia. ... SGI Octane2 (2000-2004). ...

An ARC console screen on a PowerPC-based BeBox

In addition, a majority of the RISC-based computers from the early and mid-1990s which were designed to run Windows NT used various modified versions of the ARC boot console to boot windows. Among these computers were the MIPS Magnum; all of the DEC Alpha-based machines with a PCI bus and which were designed prior to the end of support for Windows NT/Alpha in September, 1999; and most Windows NT-capable PowerPC computers (such as the IBM RS6000 40/P and the BeBox). It was also predicted that Intel 386-based computers would adopt the ARC console, although only SGI ever marketed such i386-based machines with ARC firmware (namely, the SGI Visual Workstation series, which went on sale in 1999). A PowerPC (BeBox) system at the ARC console File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A PowerPC (BeBox) system at the ARC console File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A MIPS Magnum 3000 (RC3230) The MIPS Magnum was a line of computer workstations designed by MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. ... DEC Alpha AXP 21064 Microprocessor The DEC Alpha, also known as the Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit RISC microprocessor originally developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corp. ... For other meanings of PCI, see PCI (disambiguation). ... PowerPC is a RISC microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance, known as AIM. Originally intended for workstations, PowerPC CPUs have since become popular embedded and high-performance processors as well. ... The IBM pSeries, formerly called RS/6000 (for RISC System/6000), is IBMs current RISC/UNIX-based workstation computer line. ... The BeBox was a short-lived dual processor PC, offered by Be, Incorporated to run their own operating system, BeOS. After initial prototypes with two AT&T Hobbit processors and three DSPs, the machines were fitted with two PowerPC 603e processors running at 66MHz. ... The Intel 80386 is a microprocessor which was used as the central processing unit (CPU) of many personal computers from 1986 until 1994 and later. ... SGI Visual Workstation 320 The SGI Visual Workstation series was a line of computer workstations manufactured by SGI and designed to run Windows NT. The Visual Workstations are notable for their use of the Intel Pentium II and Intel Pentium III processors (rather than the MIPS RISC architecture usually used...

Companies which produced products complying (to some degree) with the ARC standard include:

• Microsoft Jazz (MIPS)
• SGI (MIPS)
• Siemens-Nixdorf in RM200 (MIPS)
• Acer in PICA (MIPS)
• DeskStation Tyne (MIPS)
• DeskStation Raptor (ALPHA)
• MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. in MIPS Magnum (MIPS)
• Olivetti in M700 (MIPS)
• NEC in NEC RISCstation (MIPS)
• NeTpower Fastseries MP (MIPS)
• Carrera Computers, Inc Cobra R4000 and VIPER (MIPS)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the worlds largest software company, with over 50,000 employees in various countries as of May 2004. ... The Jazz computer architecture was a motherboard and chipset design originally developed by Microsoft for use in developing Windows NT. The design was eventually used as the basis for most MIPS-based Windows NT systems. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) is the worlds largest electronics company. ... Acer is one of the worlds top five branded PC vendors. ... The DeskStation Tyne was a line of computer workstations made by DeskStation Technology and based on the MIPS R4000 and R4400 series of RISC microprocessors. ... ... A MIPS Magnum 3000 (RC3230) The MIPS Magnum was a line of computer workstations designed by MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. ... Olivetti is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines. ... The initials NEC may stand for: NEC Corporation, Nippon Electric Co. ... NEC RISCstation 2200 The NEC RISCstation was a line of computer workstations made by NEC in the mid-1990s, based on MIPS RISC microprocessors and designed to run Microsoft Windows NT. A series of nearly identical machines were also sold by NEC in headless (i. ... Founded in 1990, Carrera Computers designs, manufactures and services high-powered custom solutions based on the fastest microprocessors in the world. ...

External links

• Linux-MIPS (ARC) article